Quench cast lead or not

Quenching wheel weights does make them considerably harder in my experience. Whether you need them to be that hard is a bit different question.
What are you loading for and are the bullets one or two thou oversized?

Sometimes softer is actually better for lower pressure loads so the bullets can bump up to groove diameter.
 
I agree with the above post. It depends on what you're shooting, and how fast you plan to shoot them. I water quench my WW alloy spiked with a bit of tin to get BHN 15-18 for rifle and 460 Mag bullets that will be gas checked and ran at 1800 FPS or over.

My powder puff 38 spl wadcutters are with the same alloy only are air cooled and usually end up around BHN 9.
 
I cast near pure lead, I don't quench per se but I do drop the projectiles from the mold onto a wet dishcloth. I am looking for maximum size as I shoot mostly single shot black powder cartridge rifles (38-55, 45-70, 45-120) I use a Lyman Lubrisizer to size and lube them. I need them to bump up a bit especially for my 1884 Springfield Trapdoor.

My $0.02 cents worth

Retreever
 
Cast bullets for BCPR or pistols don't need to be quenched. Quenching works on alloys with antimony. With a tin lead alloy you should not see any softening or hardening of the alloy over time. I cast 100's in advance sort them by weight they can sit for up to three months or more then I size, lube and use them.
 
MC One Shot said:
Cast bullets for BCPR or pistols don't need to be quenched. Quenching works on alloys with antimony. With a tin lead alloy you should not see any softening or hardening of the alloy over time. I cast 100's in advance sort them by weight they can sit for up to three months or more then I size, lube and use them.
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Most long range black powder cartridge shooters use about 5% antimony or tin and 95% pure lead for their casting and let the bullets cool slowly. The idea is a soft bullet that will obdurate (swell up) in the bore when fired with black powder. I think the advantage of using a small amount of tin or antimony is to lower the melting temperature and have the mixture fill the mold more uniformly. I don't see any merit in quenching round ball and for hunting I would recommend a soft lead ball. When casting, I drop my bullets onto a pad made of woven fiberglass roving wrapped about some pink fiberglass insulation. It is soft enough that the bullets are not damaged when they fall on it

cheers mooncoon
 
Quenching only hardens a thin surface layer of the lead bullet. It won't prevent obturation. The lead alloy needs antimony for quench hardening to work.
 
BattleRife said:
I've not heard this before. Can you provide any reference or explanation as to why it would be the case?
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Reference is my own hardness testing. Say the surface of an unquenched ww cast bullet tests at Brinnel 12. Quenching can raise the surface hardness a useful amount. But file a spot or cut that quenched bullet in half and test the newly exposed area - it will be the same hardness as the original before quenching. The heardened section does not go very deep.

Why? That I can't say with any certainty but I expect it is because when quenched the exposed surface of the bullet cools faster than the insulated alloy below the surface.

Another thing i saw in heat treated bullets was that after quenching the hardness continues to increase for at least 1-2 weeks. And for that I have no good idea why.
 
I only water drop for convenience. I run my lead and molds fast and hot. Dropping into a 5 gal pail of water on the floor allows me to not worry about the 6 soft bullets getting flat spots from hitting the pile or any hard surfaces. I’ve read whatever hardness achieved by quenching will be lost with time anyways. I usually cast a years worth at a time so I try to rely more on the composition of the lead if hardness is needed.
 
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